This is Dan Mazur calling with the final dispatch from our spring climbing
season. I am currently in Everest basecamp and all of our members and staff
are down from the hill. It's a beautiful sunny day here. There are a few puffy
clouds, light winds, crystal clear blue skies, and birds are flying around
hovering on the air currents. As I speak to you I am looking up at Mount
Everest and the mighty Khumbu Glacier Icefall, which looks like an enourmous
frozen river of white diamonds. Occasionally an avalanche pops off from one of
the subsidiary peaks which ring this corrie our basecamp lies within. These
avalanches are noisy and impressive, but luckily they never touch basecamp.

This year we were blessed with great success. I am very
thankful, and perhaps even a bit surprised with how lucky we were. Of course,
the maxim: 'good luck follows hard work' might hold true in this case.

Many of our team members, men and women from around the
world, climbed to the top of Everest, our world's highest mountain, as well as
to the summit of Lhotse, the fourth highest, and thank god we had no serious
accidents.

Everyone tried very hard and achieved their personal goals,
whether that was trekking to basecamp, or achieving a personal high point,
such as the summit of easy Island Peak, or getting up to high camp on Everest
or Lhotse. We commend all of our team members on doing their very best.

We faced a lot of challenges this year, especially with the
closure of Tibet due to the Chinese Olympic torch parade on Everest.

However, our members, leaders, and staff showed the
patience, flexibility, and determination which good mountaineers need, and we
made the best of the season.

14 of our Members summited Everest. Of these, We placed the
Youngest Canadian man and the youngest Canadian woman on the summit of
Everest. We placed a family of four on the summit of Everest.

4 of our Members reached the summit of Lhotse, the world's
fourth highest peak

We placed the First Dutchman on the summit of Lhotse, and
the first Greek on the summit of Lhotse.

14 of our Sherpas climbed to the summit of Everest.

4 of our sherpas climbed to the summit of Lhotse.

We had excellent expedition leadership from Arnold Coster
and Sam Mansikka (photo right: Ang Sherpa and Ms. Sophie Denis on the summit
of Everest).

In addition, we had a great group of trekkers and climbers
for our Everest basecamp trek and Island Peak climb in April and May. In April
we had 11 members trek to basecamp and 5 members reach the summit of Island
Peak. In May we had an outstanding group of 5 trek to basecamp and reach the
summit of Kala Patar, having a lot of fun the whole way.

More to follow including video...

Earlier update: We were able to speak directly with Mike Browder. He and the
sherpa rescue team are carefully and slowly working their way down the Lhotse
face. His condition seems to be stable. We hope the team and Mike will reach
camp 2 before nightfall. By the way, Mike Browder, Pasang, and Lakpa
apparently did reach the summit of Mt Everest at 10:00 am on the morning of 28
May. Our congratulations. However, lets not get caught up in any kind of
celebration just yet, until this rescue is over and the team is safely back in
basecamp. Thank you very much.

Earlier:
Update from the Team: At 4:00 am this morning we heard that Mike is on the
South Col with 4 Sherpas and they are preparing to help Mike down the mountain
to camps 3 and 2. We sent an additional sherpa, Tenzing, up with more supplies
and oxygen to assist, so Mike will now have 5 Sherpas helping him. We are
doing all we can to get him down and send Mike and the rescue team all of our
prayers.

Earlier News: Worrisome news: Mike Browder
seems to be in trouble on the south summit. He's with Pasang Sherpa and
Lakpa Sherpa, two of our best. It seems he is snow blind, and they are
trying to get him down. As soon as we heard the news, we sent two more
sherpas, Gyelzen and Sangay up from camp 2 to camp 4 with extra oxygen,
food, water, and emergency equipment. We are very worried and doing
everything possible to get Mike down safely. Our prayers go out to Mr.
Browder and the entire sherpa team. We will keep you informed.

Earlier:

At 6:00 am, Mike Browder,
Pasang Gyalu Sherpa, and Lakpa Gyalu Sherpa radioed to say they were on the
South Summit. We send all of our prayers and thoughts for their safe ascent to
the summit, as well as descent.

27 May, 2008 (Everest) :

Laura Mallory and Pasang
Sherpa summitted this morning at 9:00 am. The weather was perfect, sunny and
calm. They returned to the south col at 4:30 pm. We congratulate them.

Mike Browder, Pasang (2)
Sherpa, and Lakpa (2) Sherpa are camped on the South Col now and plan to
head for the summit tonight at 8:00 pm. We pray for their safety and
success.

Hello SummitClimb news. This
is Arnold again calling from camp 2 with some more good news.

This morning Laura Mallory
summited at 9:00 a.m., which I think is really good. All of the Mallorys have
made it to the summit now. Right now the Dan, Adam and Alan are back in camp 2
together with Linda.

Tonight Michael is still
lined up for the summit with Lakpa Gyalu and Pasang Gyalu. Michael is going to
be the last member from our team to try for the summit, so I wish him all of
the best of luck. He is very strong, I have a lot of confidence in him, and I
think tomorrow I will be calling in our last summit before we start packing
up. So thatís it for now. Bye, bye

Earlier:
Canadian Mallory family summits. Congratulations!!!

Hello Summitclimb news. This is Arnold
again calling from camp 2.

I have some good news. This morning at
8:00 a.m. local time, Dan, Alan, and Adam Mallory summited Everest. I just
spoke with them on the radio. They are doing fine and they will soon start
their descent. Unfortunately Laura Mallory left camp 4 last night, but didnít
feel too good so she turned around. She wants to try again this evening
without a sherpa. Also, Linda turned around last night and sheís back safely
in camp 4.

Today Michael left for camp 3 and heís
going for his summit attempt too.

The weather is good and itís getting
warmer with spring coming. The later people summit the more warm they will
feel on the roof of the world, which I think is good. Today I will talk with
Jo to make a new plan. He was not feeling too good, but heís much better. So
after 1 or 2 days of rest heíll be ready to go up also.

Weíre still playing the game. People
are still leaving camp 2 to go for the summit. So letís see what happens and
Iíll call in as soon as I have more news about the Mallory family. Bye, bye.

Earlier:
Hello SummitClimb news. This is Arnold calling again from camp 2.

First of all, Iíd like to say that all
of our members who summited on the 21st are safely back in camp 2. They all
arrived yesterday afternoon. Matt, UK John, Irish John, Sophie, and Ken are
all back here in camp 2 now.

I received good news this morning.
Eric, Christian, Agnieska, Andrew, together with Phurba, Lakpa Norbu, and
Dorje summited Everest this morning. Congratulations to them! Itís great news
we are so successful in summiting this year.

Linda left camp 2 this morning to go
for her summit attempt and Laura is trying to reach the South Col today. So in
the next 2 days we will get some more summits hopefully. Once I have some more
detailed news I will call in again. Thatís it for now. Bye, bye.

Earlier:
On 21 May at approximately 8:00 am the following team members summitted
Everest:

John Dowd

Matt Lipscombe

John Shelton-Smith

Dr. Ken Stalter

We send our deepest congratulations and best wishes for a
safe and careful descent. We are very proud of them and the sherpas who helped

Second group on the move!

Hello SummitClimb news. This is Arnold calling from Lhotse
camp 3 at about 7000 metres/23,000 feet.

Yesterday we went for the summit of Lhotse with Harris,
Lakpa, Jangbu, Maya, and me. Unfortunately, Maya, Jangbu, and I turned around
because we thought it was too windy. Harris was feeling stronger and
continued, making it to the summit with Lakpa. So Harris is the first Greek to
make it to the summit of Lhotse and I think that is great news!

Today Matt, Berry, Irish John, UK John, and Ken are on their
way to the South Col. I just spoke to them on the radio. They are doing fine
and looking forward to reaching the South Col. Tomorrow they will hopefully
reach the summit of Everest.

Today it was a little windy, but the weather seems good. The
weather forecast is good for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so the guys
should be fine. I'm heading to camp 2 right now to get some good food. I'll
keep you informed. Bye, bye

Earlier: Groups in camp 2 & camp
3. Summit attempts soon!

Hello SummitClimb news. This
is Arnold, the leader of the Everest/Lhotse expedition.

Iím calling from camp 3 right
now at about 7200 metres/23,600 feet. Iím on a summit push to climb Lhotse
with Maya Sherpa, Harris, Lakpa, and Jangbu Sherpa. Today we had a very hot
day climbing to camp 3, so weíre a little bit dehydrated, but everybody is
fine.

Matt, Berry, Irish John, UK
John, and Ken arrived in camp 2 today. They are going to rest tomorrow in camp
2. Their plan is to climb up to camp 3 on the 19th and to summit Everest on
the 21st. So the next couple of days we have a lot of things going on. Weíve
probably got people summiting Lhotse and Everest.

Letís see what happens with
our group tomorrow, when we will climb to Lhotse camp 4 at 7850 metres/25,750
feet. Our plan is to summit Lhotse on the 19th. So far the weather gods are in
our favour. Letís see what happens. Iím very optimistic, but you never know
with the weather. Iíll talk to you again tomorrow. Thank you for following our
news. Bye, bye Irish

Earlier: Greetings from
Everest/Lhotse basecamp, this is Sam calling

Summitclimb's
Lhotse team is planning to move up again tomorrow after 2 good rest days in
our comfortable basecamp. Bert, Les, Roger, and Herman are planning to
finalize their acclimatization program by sleeping up in camp 3 before
returning to basecamp for a final rest before their summit push.

Stefanos, Diane, Ian, and
Johnny will try to climb up to 8000 metres/26,200 feet this time before
heading back to Kathmandu to catch their flights back home. This trip has been
the best possible training for them if they ever decide to return to attempt
Everest. I really hope to get to climb with them again in the future.

During the past 2 days in
basecamp we've been talking about our home countries and sharing our travel
experiences, whether it is island hopping in Greece, cycling in Japan, fishing
in New Zealand, touring in Scandinavia, or exploring Africa. Besides talking,
we've been spotting avalanches and trying to catch them on film and memory
cards. It's been pretty warm here the last few days, so there have been quite
a few big ones we've witnessed.

In a couple of days we'll
stay in the high camps. I hope the weather cooperates and we get to meet our
goals, enjoying a few nice days up there.

That is all for now. I just
want you to know that we are all having so much fun here and I think that we
have a superb team. I definitely think that having fun is the most important
thing on an expedition like this. So we'll get back to you soon. This was Sam
from SummitClimb's international Lhotse expedition 2008. Bye

Hello SummitClimb news.
This is Arnold again calling from camp 2.

Today our last 2 members who
slept in camp 3, Linda and Laura, went down to basecamp for the final rest
before their summit attempt. The only member who is coming up to camp 2 today
is Adam Mallory. He is trying to catch up for lost time, so we will see him
here soon.

All of the members are eating
well and resting a lot for their final attempt for the summit. It's going to
be a couple of hard days for them.

Right now all of our sherpas
are doing a marvelous job. They have to carry more than 100 oxygen bottles to
the South Col at 8000 metres/26, 200 feet. They also have to pitch tents and
stock food, so they are pretty busy right now while our members are resting to
make everything ready for their summit attempt.

I expect our members back in
a couple of days in camp 2. Our first attempt for Lhotse is planned right now
for the 19th of May, if the weather stays good of course. The first attempt
for our Everest group will be on the 21st, also if the weather allows of
course.

So I'll keep you updated. I'm
going back to the sherpas right now to eat dinner with them. Talk to you soon
again. Bye, bye

Earlier:
Hi, this is Sam, the leader of SummitClimbís international Lhotse expedition
calling on May 14th.

Our whole team has now returned to
basecamp after a good trip to the higher camps. On the 11th we climbed to camp
2, where we had a rest day on the 12th. Yesterday the whole team climbed up to
our soon to be camp 3 at a bit over 7000 metres/23,000 feet and all returned
to camp 2 for the night. The day before yesterday the weather looked kind of
bad, but it changed dramatically overnight, so we took the chance to push our
acclimatization by visiting camp 3.

The next time we will go up will be to
sleep in camp 3 in order to finalize our acclimatization for the summit push.
If the weather allows, we will climb up to camp 2 on the 17th and camp 3 on
the 18th. For now, everybody is doing well and weíre happy to be back in our
comfortable basecamp with private tents and a bit more variable foods than
what we get in the high camps.

I guess the only bad thing is that
yesterday my ibook failed because of the altitude, so now I might need to
start reading instead.

Dinner is supposed to be soon and Iím
wondering what the menu is today. I guess weíll probably be having pizza and
some pasta or something like that. Oh well. That is all for today. Iíll get
back to you soon. This was Sam for news of SummitClimbís international Lhotse
expedition 2008. Bye.

Earlier: Team has gone to camp 3.
Going back to basecamp to prepare for the summit! Hello SummitClimb news. This
is Arnold calling from camp 2, 6300 metres/20,700 feet. Today Matt, Berry, and
Irish John came down safely from camp 3 at 7300 metres/24,000 feet and they
were the first from our team to spend the night up there. Ken and UK John also
went to camp 3 today. All of them are now on their way down to basecamp to do
their final rest to prepare them for their summit attempt.

Tonight Christian, Eric,
Michael, Andrew, and the three Mallorys will sleep in camp 3 to prepare them
for their summit attempt. Sophie and her sherpa are there as well. That group
will also go down tomorrow and rest in basecamp. In that time, all of the
sherpas will start carrying all of the oxygen to camp 4 and prepare the high
camp so that everything is ready for our members to summit.

I estimate that the first
members will summit around the 20th of May, if the weather allows us of
course. Everybody is quite healthy and strong. Only Adam Mallory is still
having some stomach problems and resting in basecamp, hoping he gets stronger
and he should be here with me in camp 2 soon.

So weíre doing well here and
everybody is getting pretty excited to go to the summit. The clock starts to
tick now. In a few weeks weíll probably be finished. After all of the delays
with waiting for the Chinese to summit everything is going very fast now.
Letís see what happens. Iím excited and Iím sure all of the members are
excited. Pretty soon Iíll have more news. Bye, bye.

Most of our members are relaxing here in camp 2 and waiting
for camp 3 to be finished. Today our sherpas pitched three tents in camp 3 and
tomorrow they will finish the rest of the job setting it up. Our camp 3 is at
about 7400 metres/24,300 feet. Also, two sherpas from our group, Mingma Shera
and Dorje, went all of the way to the Geneva Spur to fix the ropes there. Our
staff is doing a marvelous job in trying to catch up from our delay.

Tomorrow Ken, Christian, Andrew, Michael, Laura and the
Polish couple will come up and join us in camp 2. Then everyone will be in
camp 2 except Adam Mallory. He got a stomach problem in camp 1 and had to go
down to basecamp, but he's in good hands with our sirdar, Kaji, and our other
sherpas who are taking care of him there. So I hope to see him in camp 2 soon
as well.

Until anything changes, that is it for now. Tomorrow most of
our members will climb on the Lhotse face, sleep in camp 2 again, and then if
they sleep in camp 3, I will give a ring again. Bye, bye

The whole team is in camp 2
right now taking a rest day. It snowed last night and today, so they are
going to head back down to basecamp tomorrow if it doesn't let up. They are
all doing well and having a good time hanging out and telling stories

Today we had a rest day in
basecamp. This morning was beautiful, but now it is snowing a bit. We hope it
will stop soon since weíre preparing to enter the ice-fall tomorrow. This time
we are planning to sleep in camp 2 and also in camp 3.

Everyone is doing well. We
went to see Christian, our Everest teamís doctor today because one of our
members had a blocked nose. He gave us some nasal spray, which Iím sure will
help. Craig looked over Stefanos, who had some stiffness in his back, but heís
better now. Craig has been enthusiastically collecting oxygen saturation data
for his friend Christianís study. He usually does it after meals, so itís
been: meals, saturations, and a few rounds of Uno.

Besides climbing, weíve been
talking about Chevy Chase movies, 80ís music, goldfish in a tank, and
everything in between. So weíre having a good time here with a lot of
flapping. Everyoneís excited to go climbing tomorrow. I just hope the weather
allows us to follow our planned program.

Thatís about it for today.
Iíll get back to you soon. This was Sam from SummitClimbís international
Lhotse expedition 2008. Bye

9 May, 2008 (Everest)

Hello SummitClimb news
readers.

Today we got the official
news the Chinese summited! That means all our restrictions to climb Everest
and Lhotse are gone!

Tomorrow Ken, UK John,
Irish John, Jo, Harris, Linda and Sofie will go to camp 2 to join Matt,
Berry and the Mallory family, who are already on the way to C2. Camp 3 will
be fixed on the 9th and our tents will probably be in place on the 10th or
11th (photo right by Aldas Baltutis: Arnold in Everest basecamp in 2007).

Everybody is very happy to
start climbing again and spirits are very high.

On the 10th, Laura, Eric,
Christian, Michael, Andrew, the Polish couple, Arnold and Maya will go up to
C2. This way we have enough tent space in C3 and everybody will have a good
night there.

Most members will come down
after sleeping In C3 at 7200 metres/23,600 feet to have their final rest in
basecamp before pushing to the summit.

So everybody is fine and we
are all excited to start the final stage of our expedition! Cheers, Arnold

3 May, 2008 (Lhotse): Team in basecamp.

Hi everyone. This is Sam calling
from Gorak Shep on May 3rd.

SummitClimb's Lhotse expedition has
now reached basecamp.

Les and Bert also arrived in
basecamp today so the team is now complete. They had a nice hike and we
are now happy to have them with the team.

Tomorrow the team members will rest
in basecamp and organize their gear. We will have a puja on May 6, so no
climbing before that. Everyone is feeling fine. No one is having any
altitude related issues and we are looking forward to climbing in a few
days. This was Sam from Gorak Shep. Bye.

3 May, 2008 (EBC Trek)

Team in Phakding.

Hi, this is Mike Martin from the
May Everest Basecamp Trek. I'm calling to inform everyone of our progress.
We just wanted to check in at the completion of our first day and include
in our post that the Himalayas are everything we imagined they would be
and better. Today was our easy day, going downhill the river valley and
across suspended bridges. It's just truly awesome.

We're sitting in a teahouse that
looks out at massive bluffs and huge rocks.

We're just extremely happy to be
here. Everyone is working well together. We have a great guide, Mingma
Sherpa, and he's taking really good care of us.

That's it for now. We'll be in
touch again tomorrow after we make it to Namche. Thank you very much.

2 May, 2008 (Everest) : The Everest team is all down from the
mountain. Everyone is doing well.

Linda has
recovered and is feeling better, so she plans to move up with her Sherpa.
Matt is feeling strong. Berry is feeling much better, after coming up to
basecamp a bit too fast (his bags were lost in Heathrow Terminal 5 and have
now arrived). Jo is feeling strong. Sophie is well. The Ottos are OK.

The Mallory's have been working their way up the mountain,
and Laura Mallory was looking very strong in Camp 2, go Laura! Laura Ross
has been quite focused on staying healthy and getting properly acclimated.
Andrew is staying the course. John is quite keen. Agnieszka and Maciek are
staying the course. Ken wants to stay in basecamp and be ready when his
chance comes.

Most of the team are moving down to lower villages for a
rest. Many will go down to Dingoche. Arnold and Maya went to Pangboche for a
much needed rest.

Its been a tough year to lead the Everest team (and
difficult to be a member of course), with all of the Olympic torch closures.
Foreign military jets are seen flying over the summit. A helicopter landed
in basecamp with embassy officials on board, for an inspection of the
basecamp. There are checkpoints in the Khumbu where our team's luggage is
being searched for communications equipment, cameras, flags, etcetera. Our
Lhotse team is moving up, between Dughla and Lobuche, and they are looking
strong. Go Lhotse team!

Down in Kathmandu our office has been contacting the
ministries and embassies to monitor the situation. Ropes on the Tibet side
of Everest are fixed to 8300 metres / 27,224 feet. Yesterday was too windy
to summit, so the team is hoping to go for the summit on 2-3 May. After the
Tibet-side team summits, then the mountain should theoretically reopen in
short order.

If they don't summit on 3 May, then they are hoping for
another weather window on the 6th of May. Various officials are saying that
the Nepal side of Everest could remain closed until 10 May, so no teams
above basecamp until after 10 May. No one knows if that will be enforced.
Everyone hopes this will not be the case. We will be monitoring the
situation daily

Earlier:
The team is currently acclimating in camp 2.

All of of our members, except the
Mallorys and Linda, made it to camp 2. They are all healthy and strong. The
Mallorys are a little bit behind schedule, but they are sleeping in camp 1
right now and tomorrow they will come up to camp 2 for a short visit before
returning to camp 1.

Unfortunately, Linda had a chest
infection and couldn't make it to camp 2. Right now she is resting in a lower
village with one of our kitchen staff to take care of her. We send her our
best and hope she will recover soon.

So everybody is doing fine. This year,
due to the Chinese Torch Parade on Everest, our dispatches are a bit less
frequent, but don't worry, everyone is doing well so far

Earlier: Hello, this is Sam
Mansikka, the leader of Summitclimb's International Lhotse expedition. Here's
our greetings to Summitclimb News from Namche (3400 metres/11,200 feet) on
Sunday, 27th of April.

After an exciting flight to
Lukla yesterday we hiked to Phakding for the night.

It is beautiful here and
everyone's enjoying the hike so much! There's a good amount of "positive
feeling" in the air, as Stefanos would say.

We have a very international
group consisting of 10 members representing 8 nationalities. We have Diane and
Ian from South Africa, Ron from Canada, Johnny from Denmark, Roger from
England, Stefanos from Greece, Herman and Bert from Holland, Les from New
Zealand and me, Sam from Finland. Bert and Les arrived early and telephoned
two days ago to say they are having lots of fun trekking to Gokyo and then
planning to walk over the Cho La Pass, where we'll meet up with them at Gorak
Shep in a few days. We are planning to reach base camp on May 3rd to start our
climb.

Oh, mobile phones seem to
work fine here so I'll call you soon with more news about our expedition to
the world's 4th highest mountain.

Stay tuned to SummitClimb.com
for more dispatches!

This was Sam for
Summitclimb's International Lhotse 2008 Expedition

Earlier:
This morning Ken, Andrew, John Shelton-Smith, John Dowd, Sophie, Matt,
Tenji(1), Dawa, Tenji(2) and Ang Sherpa went to camp 1 and are planning to go
to camp 2 tommorow!

The past three days our Sherpa's have been very busy carrying supplies to C2.
We will have a small basecamp there.

The mountain is probably going to be closed from the 1st of May until the
Chinese Olympic Torch team summits, so we are just in time to get some more
acclimatization.

A view of our
comfortable camp 2 looking up towards the Lhotse face (Bruce manning, 2007).
Members wave in the Western Cwm between camp 1 and camp 2 (Dan Mazur, 2007).
Our team members ascending above camp 3 looking down to the Western Cwm (Bruce
Manning, 2007). Our team members approaching camp 1 above the ice-fall (Tunc
Findik).

23 April, 2008 (Lhotse)

Our Lhotse expedition is arriving in Kathmandu. This
expedition was supposed to be the Cho Oyu expedition, but since Tibet has
been sealed off to foreigners due to the Chinese Olympic torch relay, 9 Cho
Oyu members and the leader decided they would like to have a go at Lhotse
instead of canceling their trip.

The weather has
been warm and sunny and Kathmandu has been quite peaceful (photo right by
Tunc Findik in May 2007: The Lhotse face).

Our team is looking good and we have been hanging around
together quite a bit. Yesterday we checked all of the group equipment like
tents and ropes.

Our super-skillful sherpas Jangbu and Shera are doing the
equipment purchasing and packing, and Jai Bahadur, who cooks amazing and
tasty dishes, has been organizing the food.

Our Lhotse team will have four climbing Sherpas: Jangbu
(1), Jangbu (3), Lakpa (1), and Pasang (2), as well as Shera supporting.

Mr. Murari Sharma and Mr. Deha Shrestha have been busy
running around Kathmandu getting all of the permits and everything sorted
out.

We had a lovely dinner last night at the Roadhouse in
Thamel and then went for a nice dessert at the New Orleans Cafť.

Today we have been checking the team member's equipment
and doing the shopping for needed items.

Tomorrow the rest of our team arrives. Welcome to Lhotse,
world's 4th highest!

Most of our members have now
slept in camp 1, at about 6000 metres/19,700 feet, and everybody did fine.

Our last 4 members, "the
Mallory's", arrived in basecamp two days ago. They look strong and healthy.

Today they are trekking to
Pumori ABC at about 5700 metres/18,700 feet to get some more altitude. After
this they will probably practice on the ropes and ladder on the lower part
of the ice-fall to get comfortable with this obstacle, before going to camp
1.

Right now the members who
slept in camp 1 are resting, taking showers, and washing clothes. Normal
basecamp life!

This morning 14 Sherpa's
went up to pitch camp 2. They will put a full kitchen and about 16 tents
there. This is going to be our 2nd Summitclimb village on the mountain. It
will probably take about three days before our camp 2 is fully operational
and our members can sleep there. Until then we will probably do small walks
around basecamp.

We are not in a rush, as we
are still a long way from climbing to the summit of Everest and Lhotse.

We would like to send our sincere thanks to the Nepal Army
for coordinating communications and assisting in the rescue of the ill sherpa.
Things went very smoothly, thanks to them. We are grateful.

19 April, 2008 (Trek & Island Peak Photos)

Here are some photos from our recently returned Everest
Basecamp Trek and Island Peak expedition. Click one of the thumb nails below
to view a bigger version of each image.

The village of Jorsalle. Yaks and porters on Jorsalle
bridge. Barbara Mallory and Mingma Sherpa (Preston Stroud). Our team ascending
the summit ridge on Island Peak (Emil Friis). Kevin Cooper on the summit.
Kevin Cooper on the shoulder to the summit. Stefano, Emil, Tom and Kevin on
the summit. Summit morning (Stefano Ricci

18 April, 2008 (Update): The everest sherpa's rescue
helicopter has arrived in Kathmandu. Many thanks to all of the sherpas and
team members who helped out. Also a very heartfelt thank you and our deepest
appreciation to the Nepal Air Force for a brilliant helicopter-rescue.

The doctor examined Gyelzen Sherpa and said he is OK, he
just needs some rest. Gyelzen is able to walk, speak, eat, drink, and seems
fine. He went back to his village to be with his family and the doctor will
conduct a follow-up exam tomorrow. We wish him all of the best. Thank God.
It seems this was not a very serious accident, and could have been much
worse.

Today and tomorrow our entire Everest team plans to move
into camp 1, and we wish them all of the best for a safe and successful
journey through the Khumbu Icefall.

18 April, 2008: Mrs. Nima Sherpani telephoned us this
morning to report that our team worked through the night to carry the ill
sherpa down to Pheriche hospital.

Mr. Murari Sharma telephoned from Kathmandu airport to say
the helicopter will takeoff shortly to bring the sherpa back to Kathmandu,
where he will be immediately transferred to the Kathmandu hospital for
further examination and treatment

17 April, 2008: On a worrisome note: A sherpa, Gyelzen (1)
Sherpa, has suffered an apparent stroke at 11:00 am on 17 April, 2008 at the
top of the icefall. He was going up to camp 1, but did not reach there.
Instead, he lay down on the trail at around 5800 metres/19,000 feet and
complained he could not feel the right side of his body. He is unable to
walk and his right side seems to be paralysed. 20 sherpas working together
carried him back to basecamp and we are sending a helicopter for him now. We
are very concerned about his safety and are working to evacuate him to the
hospital in Kathmandu as soon as possible.

We are
very mysified that this happened, as he climbed to the summit of Everest in
2006 and 2007 with no trouble. In addition, during today's journey to camp
1, he was not carrying a partcularly heavy rucksack, nor was he climbing too
fast, as he was together with the group. His age is 39 years old.

On a more upbeat note (not to diminish in any way the
tragic happenings of the day), 5 members and three sherpas moved to camp 1
at 5950 metres/19,500 feet, where they are safely spending the night. These
are:

Ken,

Haris,

Andrew,

John Dowd,

John Shelton-Smith,

Dawa Sherpa,

Tenji (1) Sherpa,

Phurba Sherpa.

Sending our best wishes to the team and everyone in
Everest basecamp, especially to all of those who lent their kind help

15 April, 2008
Today we had the big meeting with the military.

This
is what they said:

Radios are allowed, but we have to give them one so they
can listen in on our conversations.

No Sat-phones or Rbgan until 10th of May. They want us to
hand them over.

No camera's or video until the 10th of May.

We can't climb above camp 2 until the 10th of May, but
Sherpa's are allowed to fix ropes up to the South Col between 06:00 a.m. and
18:00 p.m.

Everybody will get a liaison officer but they are delayed
in arriving in basecamp because of the elections. They will inspect our camp
for sat phones, Rbgans, etc., but they will respect the privacy of our
member's tents.

There will be a check post at Gorak Shep and all trekkers
will be checked and are not allowed to bring their camera's to basecamp.

If the Chinese torch team summits early then we can just
go ahead before the 10th of May. Right now the Chinese are planning to
summit on 28 April.

14 April, 2008

Dear SummitClimb news readers,

Today we went into the Khumbu Icefall for the first time.
I think the route is great and a lot easier than previous times I was here.
All of the members enjoyed playing with the ropes and ladders a lot.

Yesterday most of our members went to Pumori ABC, which
lies at about 5700 metres/18,700 feet, thus making today's walk in the
icefall a lot easier.

We are not allowed yet to climb to camp 1 until the army
arrives here. They are going to keep an eye on the climbers here on the
south side, so nobody does anything bad to the torch climb on the other side
of Everest.

I think tomorrow we will have another meeting in basecamp
and then be able to proceed to C1.

That is all for now. I'll write again as soon I have more
news

Earlier:
On our walk from Pangboche to Pheriche we got about 3 inches of fresh snow,
which made it pretty tough, but it was also a great adventure. Luckily, when
we arrived in Pheriche, there was a hot stove waiting for us and our cooks
prepared us an excellent.

After a good night's sleep in Pheriche,
we woke up in the morning and the sun was shining again, with all of the high
peaks around us covered in a fresh layer of snow. We had a beautiful hike to
Dughla with nobody having any trouble with the altitude.

We had a good meal and sat around the
stove again. After a good night's sleep we walked to Lobuche, where we plan to
stay tonight. We saw our first views of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, and Pumori
here. Everybody is getting very excited to reach basecamp tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a tough walk,
taking about 8 hours to reach basecamp. There are rumors that basecamp is not
very busy, which is good for us and I'm sure our sherpas have reserved a very
nice spot for us. So until we reach basecamp, that's it for now. Everybody is
doing great and we're having a good time. I'll call you again from basecamp.
This was Arnold. Bye, bye.

Earlier: 6 April, 2008: Team
moving up to Pheriche.

Hello SummitClimb news. This
is Arnold, the leader of the Everest/Lhotse Expedition 2008.

I'm calling from Pangboche at
about 3950 metres/13,000 feet and it's a snowy day. All of the members have
left and are walking to Pheriche today, 4200 metres/13,900 feet. Everybody
is doing fine and we are strong and healthy.

Yesterday we had a big puja
ceremony led by the lama here in Pangboche and the expedition got blessed,
so we are good to go now to base camp. We decided to stay one extra night in
Pangboche because we had some problems getting enough porters and yaks. All
of the teams are moving up at the same time because of the permits being
issued so late this year. While creating some minor logistical problems in
the valley for others, it's not going to affect our expedition at all.

Right now it's snowing a lot
and I think it is going to be an adventurous walk to Pheriche. That's it for
now. Everybody is doing fine and I'll call back in a couple of days. Thank
you. Bye, bye.

One of the many terraced
hillsides on the trek to Everest basecamp (Elselien te Hennepe).

5 April, 2008: Mr. Kaji
Tamang, our field supervisor telephoned today. Due to heavy snowfall, the team
stayed put in Pangboche today, and did not move up.

Hopefully the snow will clear
so the team can move up tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

"The team are having a
wonderful trek and staying in Tengboche tonight. It was a very beautiful trek
from Namche and spectacular views of Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Everest, Lhotse,
etcetera, were on display throughout. The Tengboche monastery itself is a very
beautiful place. We are staying in a comfortable teahouse now and enjoying
delicious hot drinks and biscuits before dinner. Our trek leader Mingma and
his wife Yengi are doing and amazing job of leading and taking care of us. We
are looking forward to tomorrow's adventure."

On 1 April, after a rainy start in Lukla, we all arrived
dry in Phakding the same day. Everybody was very happy to be on the trail in
the fresh mountain air!

After a quiet night of good sleep, the whole team walked
up to Namche Bazar at about 3500 metres on 2 April. Although this is a steep
hike, the whole team did great. I think we have a strong group this year.

On 3 April we spent our day relaxing in Namche Bazar. This
is the last big village on the way to basecamp. It has a nice market some
good restaurants and bars, and the hiking around town is great with some
good views of Ama Dablam, Everest and Lhotse.

On 4 April, we will walk to Pangboche, which is about a 6
hour walk from Namche. On the way we will pass the monastary of Tengboche.
This will be an interesting stop on the way.

We will stay in a nice lodge with great views of Ama
Dablam and the south face of Nuptse and Lhotse.

So everything is going well and all of our team members
are having a great time.

More news in the next dispatch.

2 April, 2008

The team made it to Namche
Bazaar. It was a beautiful trek. They plan to rest tomorrow. Thanks for
reading!

Namche Bazaar, the capital
of the Sherpa people. See this unique village on our trek to and from
basecamp (Tunc Findik).

1 April, 2008:

Our team flew to Lukla today
on a beautiful sunny morning. Everyone was very pleased to be getting out of
Kathmandu and beginning their expedition.

Looking forward
to an enjoyable trek to basecamp.

Our team boarding the plane for Lukla (Dan Mazur).

31 March, 2008:

Today we gathered the entire
group together and had a nice breakfast and then all of our expedition and
trek leaders, as well as office staff presented an orientation session to
the members and helped them finish their shopping and packing. We are ready
to go! We had a delicious final banquet, said goodbye to our new friends in
Kathmandu and went back to the hotel to get to bed early.

Tomorrow, April 1st, we will fly up to Lukla first thing
in the morning to begin our trek. Kathmandu has been lovely, warm and
peaceful, a very interesting city, and we will miss it very much. However,
we will look forward to the next chapter: trekking to bascamp. We will keep
in touch. Thanks for reading!

30 March, 2008:

Hello, this is Dan Mazur from
SummitClimb.com writing to you from a beautiful and peaceful Kathmandu.

More of our team members are arriving in Kathmandu, and
our staff has been meeting their flights and bringing them to the hotel. We
have been checking the members equipment and clothing, as well as helping
them purchase/hire any missing bits and pieces. We all went out to dinner
and had lots of fun. Our team orientation is scheduled for tomorrow morning,
and we are looking forward to having our team all together.

We fly to Lukla tomorrow, on the 1st of April to begin our
trek to basecamp. Thanks for reading and we will send more news tomorrow.

29 March, 2008:

Hello, this is Dan Mazur from
SummitClimb.com writing to you.

Our team members are
arriving in Kathmandu, and our staff has been meeting their flights and
bringing them to the hotel. We all went out to dinner last night and had
lots of fun. More members are due to arrive tomorrow, and our expedition
orientation meeting is scheduled for the morning of the 31st.

Then, we will fly to Lukla on the 1st of
April. Thanks for reading and we will send more news tomorrow.

A view of
Swayambhunath Stupa, the "Monkey Temple". It is the most ancient and
enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu valley. Swayambhunath's
worshippers include Hindus, Vajrayana Buddhists of northern Nepal and
Tibet, and the Newari Buddhists of central and southern Nepal. Each
morning before dawn, hundreds of pilgrims will ascend the 365 steps
that lead up the hill, file past the gilded Vajra (Tibetan: Dorje) and
two lions guarding the entrance, and begin a series of clockwise
circumambulations of the stupa. On each of the four sides of the main
stupa there are a pair of big eyes. These eyes are symbolic of God's
all-seeing perspective (Elselien te Hennepe).

This is a
picture of the popular South Col Route up Mt. Everest. Base camp is located
at 17,500 feet. This is where climbers begin their true trip up the
mountain. This is also where support staff often remain to monitor the
expeditions and provide medical assistance when necessary. Many organizations
offer hiking trips which just go to base camp as the trip is not technically
challenging (though you must be very fit).

From base
camp, climbers typically train and acclimate (permitting the body to adjust to
the decreased oxygen in the air) by traveling and bringing supplies back and
forth through the often treacherous Khumbu Icefall. This training and
recuperation continues throughout the climb, with the final summit push often
being the only time to climbers do not go back and forth between camps to
train, bring supplies, and recuperate for the next push.

The Icefall
is in constant motion. It contains enormous ice seracs, often larger than
houses, which dangle precariously over the climbers heads, threatening to fall
at any moment without warning, as the climbers cross endless crevasses and
listen to continuous ice creaking below. This often acts as a testing ground
to judge if less experienced climbers will be capable of continuing. The
Icefall is located between 17,500 and 19,500 feet.

Camp I -
5900 meters

After the
Icefall, the climbers arrive at Camp I, which is located at 19,500 feet.
Depending on the type of expedition, Camp I will either be stocked by the
climbers as they ascend and descend the Icefall, or by Sherpas in advance.

The area
between Camp I and Camp II is known as the Western Cwm. As the climbers reach
Camp II at 21,000 feet, they may be temporarily out of sight of their support
at Base camp. Nonetheless, modern communication devises permit the parties to
stay in contact.

Camp II -
6500 meters

As the
climbers leave Camp II, they travel towards the Lhotse face (Lhotse is a
27,920 foot mountain bordering Everest). The Lhotse face is a steep, shiny
icy wall. Though not technically extremely difficult, one misstep or slip
could mean a climber's life. Indeed, many climbers have lost their lives
through such mishaps.

Camp III -
23,700 feet (7200 meters)

To reach Camp
III, climbers must negotiate the Lhotse Face. Climbing a sheer wall of ice
demands skill, strength and stamina. It is so steep and treacherous that many
Sherpas move directly from Camp II to Camp IV on the South Col, refusing to
stay on the Lhotse Face.

Camp IV -
26,300 feet (8000 meters)

As youíre leaving C4Öitís a
little bit of a down slope, with the uphill side to the left. There are
typically snow on the ledges to walk down on, interspersed with rock, along
with some fixed rope. The problem with the rope is that the anchors are bad,
and thereís not much holding the rope and a fall could be serious. Fortunately
itís not too steep, but there is a ton of exposure and people are usually
tired when walking down from camp. The rock is a little down sloping to the
right as well, and with crampons on, it can be bit tricky with any kind of
wind. Thereís a little short slope on reliable snow which leads to the top of
the Geneva Spur, and the wind pressure gradient across the spur can increase
there as youíre getting set up for the rappel. Wearing an oxygen mask here can
create some footing issues during the rappel, because itís impossible to see
over the mask and down to the feet. For that reason, some people choose to
leave Camp 4 without gas, as itís easier to keep moving down the Spur when
itís important to see all the small rock steps and where the old feet are
going. Navigating down through all of the spaghetti of fixed ropes is a bit of
a challenge, especially with mush for brains at that point. One lands on some
lower ledges which arenít so steep, where fixed ropes through here are solid.
At this point, itís just a matter of staying upright, and usually, the wind
has died significantly after dropping off the Spur. The route turns hard to
the left onto the snowfield that leads to the top of the Yellow Bands.

Camp IV,
which is at 26,300 on the Lhotse face, is typically the climbers' first
overnight stay in the Death Zone. The Death Zone is above 26,000 feet.
Though there is nothing magical about that altitude, it is at this altitude
that most human bodies lose all ability to acclimate. Accordingly, the body
slowly begins to deteriorate and die - thus, the name "Death Zone." The
longer a climber stays at this altitude, the more likely illness (HACE - high
altitude cerebral edema - or HAPE - high altitude pulmonary edema) or death
will occur. Most climbers will use oxygen to climb and sleep at this altitude
and above. Generally, Sherpas refuse to sleep on the Lhotse face and will
travel to either Camp II or Camp IV.

Camp IV is
located at 26,300 feet. This is the final major camp for the summit push. It
is at this point that the climbers make their final preparations. It is also
a haven for worn-out climbers on their exhausting descent from summit attempts
(both successful and not). Sherpas or other climbers will often wait here
with supplies and hot tea for returning climbers.

From Camp IV,
climbers will push through the Balcony, at 27,500 feet, to the Hillary Step at
28,800 feet. The Hillary Step, an over 70 foot rock step, is named after Sir.
Edmond Hillary, who in 1953, along with Tenzing Norgay, became the first
people to summit Everest. The Hillary Step, which is climbed with fixed
ropes, often becomes a bottleneck as only one climber can climb at a time.
Though the Hillary Step would not be difficult at sea level for experienced
climbers, at Everest's altitude, it is considered the most technically
challenging aspect of the climb.

Summit -
29,028 feet (8848 meters)

Once the
climbers ascend the Hillary Step, they slowly and laboriously proceed to the
summit at 29,028 feet. The summit sits at the top of the world. Though not
the closest place to the sun due to the earth's curve, it is the highest peak
on earth. Due to the decreased air pressure, the summit contains less than
one third the oxygen as at sea level. If dropped off on the summit directly
from sea level (impossible in reality), a person would die within minutes.
Typically, climbers achieving the great summit will take pictures, gain their
composure, briefly enjoy the view, then return to Camp IV as quickly as
possible. The risk of staying at the summit and the exhaustion from
achieving the summit is too great to permit climbers to fully enjoy the great
accomplishment at that moment.

As most
readers of this page know, the return trip can be even more dangerous than the
climb to the summit.